Steaming devices, such as steam irons or hand-held steamers are used to remove creases from fabric, such as clothes and bedding. Such a steam iron or hand-held steamer generally comprises a main body with a handle which is held by a user, and has a sole plate with a planar ironing surface which is pressed or located against the fabric of a garment. A steam generator is disposed in the main body, so that water fed from a water receiving chamber to the steam generator is converted into steam. The steam is then discharged from the steam generator through vent holes in the ironing surface towards the fabric of a garment. The steam is used to heat up and momentarily moisten the fabric of the garment in an attempt to obtain effective removal of creases from the fabric.
In a steaming device as described above, water held in the water receiving chamber may be dosed onto a heated surface of the steam generator by means of a pump so as to instantaneously produce steam. To improve ironing performance, high steam rates are desired so as to produce generous amount of steam. It is known to achieve high steam rates by employing high pump flow rates. It is also known to improve the amount of steam generated by a steaming device by maximising the contact between dosed water and the heated surface when the steaming device is in its normal ironing position. The steaming device is in its normal ironing position when the sole plate lies in a horizontal plane and locates against the fabric.
When such a steaming device is in its ironing position, water is dosed vertically onto the heated surface in the direction of gravity. However, dosing of water onto the heated surface is dependent on the orientation of the steaming device. For example, when the steaming device is in an inclined or vertical position during use, in which the sole plate lies at an angle to the horizontal plane, gravity affects the path or trajectory of water pumped towards the heated surface, such that water does not impact the same region of the heated surface as when the steaming device is in its ironing position, or in some cases does not impact the heated surface at all. Additionally, after impact, due to gravity, water does not spread across the heated surface in the same way as when the steaming device is in its ironing position and so it does not get sufficient time in contact with the heated surface designed for the spreading of such large amounts of water in the normal ironing position. This may result in insufficient time for water to spread across the heated surface, or inadequate spreading of water across the heated surface, prior to the next dose of water leading to increased levels of water not being evaporated. As a result water may accumulate at the bottom of the steam generator resulting in excessive water spitting out from the device when the device is orientated back to its ironing position or is kept in an inclined position for too long.